Michele J. Siegel

Diagnosis and Treatment of Depression in Older Community-Dwelling Adults: 1992–2005

OBJECTIVE: To examine evolving patterns of depression diagnosis and treatment in older U.S. adults in the era of newer‐generation antidepressants.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Depression Care in Community-Dwelling Elderly in the United States

OBJECTIVES We investigated racial/ethnic disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of depression among community-dwelling elderly. METHODS We performed a secondary analysis of Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data (n = 33,708) for 2001 through 2005. We estimated logistic regression models to assess the association of race/ethnicity with the probability of being diagnosed and treated for depression with either antidepressant medication or psychotherapy. RESULTS Depression diagnosis rates were 6.4% for non-Hispanic Whites, 4.2% for African Americans, 7.2% for Hispanics, and 3.8% for others. After we adjusted for a range of covariates including a 2-item depression screener, we found that African Americans were significantly less likely to receive a depression diagnosis from a health care provider (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.41, 0.69) than were non-Hispanic Whites; those diagnosed were less likely to be treated for depression (AOR = 0.45; 95% CI = 0.30, 0.66). CONCLUSIONS Among elderly Medicare beneficiaries, significant racial/ethnic differences exist in the diagnosis and treatment of depression. Vigorous clinical and public health initiatives are needed to address this persisting disparity in care.

Depression in the first year of stay for elderly long-term nursing home residents in the U.S.A.

BACKGROUND Understanding the prevalence, incidence and cofactors of depression among long-term elderly nursing home (LTNH) residents domiciled for eight months or more may help optimize depression treatment in this vulnerable group. We quantified first year depression in American LTNH residents and the associations between depression and resident/facility characteristics. METHODS Data were obtained from the Minimum Data Set and Online Survey Certification and Reporting for 634,060 LTNH residents admitted from 1999 to 2005 in 4,216 facilities. Depression first diagnosed at admission and at subsequent quarterly intervals through the first year of stay was examined. Logistic regressions modeled correlates of newly identified depression in each time-period. RESULTS Recorded depression at admission and during the first year increased from 1999 to 2005. By 2005, 54.4% of LTNH residents had depression diagnosed over the first year; 32.8% at admission and a further 21.6% later during the first year. Antidepressant use was reported prior to depression diagnosis for 48% of those first identified depressed after admission. Men, non-Hispanic blacks, never married, and severely-cognitively impaired LTNH residents were less often identified with depression, particularly at admission. Pain and physical comorbidity were positively associated with depression identified throughout the first year. Prior institutionalization was associated with depression at admission, but not new depression after admission. Facility characteristics had weaker associations with depression. CONCLUSIONS High depression rates at admission and during the first year indicate a need to monitor and treat large numbers of American LTNH residents for depression. Reduced associations between demographics and depression as stays progress suggest other factors have increased roles in depression etiology.

No longer undertreated? Depression diagnosis and antidepressant therapy in elderly long-stay nursing home residents, 1999 to 2007.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the evolution of depression identification and use of antidepressants in elderly long‐stay nursing home residents from 1999 through 2007 and the associated sociodemographic and facility characteristics.

Use of Medicaid Data to Explore Community Characteristics Associated with HIV Prevalence Among Beneficiaries with Schizophrenia

Objective. People with severe mental illness (SMI) may be at increased risk for several adverse health conditions, including HIV/AIDS. This disproportionate disease burden has been studied primarily at the individual rather than community level, in part due to the rarity of data sources linking individual information on medical and mental health characteristics with community-level data. We demonstrated the potential of Medicaid data to address this gap. Methods. We analyzed data on Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia from eight states that account for 66% of cumulative AIDS cases nationally. Results. Across 44 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), the treated prevalence of HIV among adult Medicaid beneficiaries diagnosed with schizophrenia was 1.56% (standard deviation = 1.31%). To explore possible causes of variation, we linked claims files with a range of MSA social and contextual variables including local AIDS prevalence rates, area-based economic measures, crime rates, substance abuse treatment resources, and estimates of injection drug users (IDUs) and HIV infection among IDUs, which strongly predicted community infection rates among people with schizophrenia. Conclusions. Effective strategies for HIV prevention among people with SMI may include targeting prevention efforts to areas where risk is greatest; examining social network links between IDU and SMI groups; and implementing harm reduction, drug treatment, and other interventions to reduce HIV spread among IDUs. Our findings also suggest the need for research on HIV among people with SMI that examines geographical variation and demonstrates the potential use of health-care claims data to provide epidemiologic insights into small-area variations and trends in physical health among those with SMI.

Prevalence of diagnosed HIV disease among medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia in U.S. metropolitan areas.

Numerous reports suggest HIV may be elevated among those with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar illness, but this has been studied in only a limited number of sites. Medicaid claims files from 2002 to 2003 were examined for metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in 8 states, focusing on schizophrenia. Across 102 MSAs, 1.81% of beneficiaries with schizophrenia had received diagnoses of HIV/AIDS. MSA rates ranged widely, from 5.2% in Newark, NJ, to no cases in 16 of the MSAs.

Bipolar Medication Use and Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy Among Patients With HIV-AIDS and Bipolar Disorder

OBJECTIVE The study examined relationships between adherence to bipolar medication and to antiretroviral therapy, measured by medication fills, among patients with diagnoses of bipolar disorder and HIV infection. METHODS A retrospective study was conducted of Medicaid claims data (2001-2004) from eight states, focusing on antiretroviral adherence. The unit of analysis was person-month (N=53,971). The average observation period for the 1,687 patients was 32 months. Analyses controlled for several patient characteristics. RESULTS Patients possessed antiretroviral drugs in 72% of the person-months. When a bipolar medication prescription was filled in the prior month, the rate of antiretroviral possession in the subsequent month was 78%, compared with 65% when bipolar medication was not filled in the prior month (p<.001). Odds of antiretroviral possession were 66% higher in months when patients had a prior-month supply of bipolar medication. CONCLUSIONS Bipolar medication adherence may improve antiretroviral adherence among patients with bipolar disorder and HIV infection.